A band name sets the tone for the band. With the right name you don’t really need any sort of declaration of intent. Was it hard to come up with a name? What does the name mean to you?
-Greetings. Rigor Sardonicous consists of Glenn and Joe. Glenn founded and named the band years before I came into the fold. And yes we feel that the name very much is in line with our visions. He derived the name from a short story called Mr. Sardonicus and is about the body contorting a smile after passing into death caused by the rigidity of the muscles and tissues.

Who would say are the founding stones of the kind of sound you have? Who are your house Gods and how have they coloured your music?
-It was the lack of what we do that did make us strive towards our sound. This is what we wanted to hear and found it primarily in the slow parts of death metal songs, mainly transition parts. We preferred the heavy and dreary mood that accompanied those parts and disdained that they were generally only riffs in passing. Bach, Beethoven, Slayer, post-Ozzy Black Sabbath, Autopsy, count among our inspirations.

When you play slow do you have to think differently arranging the music than if you play faster and vice versa?
-The experience and outlook is completely different. Much of the time I have been doing Rigor Sardonicous I have been involved in other projects and the approach has never been the same with each.

Playing live is a totally different beast to studio work. How does your music work in a live environment?
-We can and have played live fairly easily but we choose not to. Glenn is not fond of performing and the efforts that go with it.

How important is having a label to back you up today when you can just release your music on any sort of platform online? Are there any negative consequences to music being too readily available to fans?
-Just because one can have their music everywhere does not always mean that it is the best manner to do so. In the metal realm, having a label is still a benefit since they have a more established access to the market that is readily seen. I do feel that the scene, like all others, is guilty of over-saturation.

I get the feeling that fans that are true to a band, is a lost thing with the easy access to music these days. Do you feel that this is a bad thing or are there any positive aspects of it at all?
-I think it is more bad than otherwise. Bands and music come and go as far as a listener seems to be concerned almost as quickly as an advertisement. There are positive aspects and the contracts that bands signed with labels that raped them can be overcome in this way, especially if the band has a large following. Having the ability to interact directly with ones fans and supporters is a great thing.

What to you is a great front cover? What should a cover have to make it great?
-Cover art should convey a real sense of emotion and intrigue that, ideally, also represents the mood and style of the music it is presenting. The cover art of our latest release, Ridenti Mortuus, was done many years ago by a fan and we always liked it but did not have a use for it at that time. We feel it fits our new album and being inspired by the cessation of WW1 the skull and rose depicted is very proper.

Do you feel that you are part of a national scene? What is the climate for metal in your country?
-We always felt a bit outside the scene since our style did not fit so well with the labels that people felt comfortable with. Right now, in this social climate, much of the scene in our area is becoming hazed by the overly sensitive. Underground music is now being sought for it’s ‘social message of justice’ than the feelings that go along with heavy and dramatic music. As a result many fans and promoters are cheerfully leading to poseurs and they are stupid enough to think that it good. In other words, it’s not being about the music anymore.

I use Spotify and Deezer but only as compliment to buying CDS (it’s easier to just have your phone or pad when you’re out) but I fear that soon music as we know it will be dead and buried. What are your worries as a band?
-With convenience almost always comes degradation of that which is being convenienced. With music the quality has been reduced and people have become increasingly accepting of such. While having music with you is a good thing, and I do this as well, a major problem comes with music’s reduction to background sounds and not the music as a focal point. The lack of a physical specimen will continue this path. At this time we are not planning a CD release of this latest effort because it is an expense that can tend to sit around.